This website uses features which update page content based on user actions. If you are using assistive technology to view web content, please ensure your settings allow for the page content to update after initial load (this is sometimes called "forms mode").
Additionally, if you are using assistive technology and would like to be notified of items via alert boxes, please follow this link to enable alert boxes for your profile.

This website uses features which update page content based on user actions. If you are using assistive technology to view web content, please ensure your settings allow for the page content to update after initial load (this is sometimes called "forms mode").
Alert box notification is currently enabled, please follow this link to disable alert boxes for your profile.

Frequently Asked Questions Retirement

Less than One Year to Retire

It may take up to eight weeks to process a withdrawal after all properly
completed withdrawal forms and separation data have been received by the TSP
Service Office. Further, the TSP Service Office cannot process a withdrawal
election until they receive an Employee Data Record from your payroll office
indicating that you have separated.
An unpaid TSP loan may delay disbursement of the TSP account balance.
Your employer will provide you with information about your withdrawal options
and the option to keep your money in the TSP. If you choose not to withdraw
your funds, in the event of your death the TSP Service Office would pay the
funds based on your written designation form on file. If you have not completed
a designation form, payment would be made to your survivors as follows:

Widow or widower.

If none of the above, child or children and descendants of deceased children
by representation.

If none of the above, retiree's parents or to the surviving parent.

If none of the above, the executor or administrator of the retiree's estate.

If none of the above, to any other of the retiree's next of kin who is
entitled under the laws of the state in which the retiree resided at death.

If you have not already done so, you should choose your exact retirement
date. Afterwards, your benefit can be estimated based on the exact date.
The best place to obtain assistance is your agency's local personnel service
center. They can provide personalized assistance and they have your employment
records. They will provide you with information on when your benefit payments
can begin based on your proposed retirement date. You will also find out how
this date affects factors used to determine the amount of your retirement
benefit, such as your length of service, high-3 average salary, and the
proration of cost-of-living adjustments.

The basic Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuity cannot exceed 80
percent of your high-3 average
salary, excluding your unused sick leave. Generally, you reach the 80
percent limitation when you have 41 years and 11 months of service, not
including accumulated sick leave. Fewer years of service may result in a
computation that produces the maximum benefit under special computation formulas
such as for law enforcement personnel.
Your service beyond the years which provides the maximum benefit will not be
used to compute your annuity. Instead, we will automatically refund the
retirement contributions you made during those years. Interest is paid on this
refund payment at the rate of three percent per year, compounded annually. You
can use the refund to purchase additional annuity, as if the contributions and
interest are voluntary
contributions.
However, if you have federal civilian employment periods when you did not
contribute to either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal
Employees Retirement System (FERS), we automatically apply excess contributions
toward any deposit due for these
employment periods.

You should carefully read the information that is part of your retirement
application, and complete and submit the forms. You do not need to submit a
separate letter of resignation. A completed and signed retirement application
is equivalent to a letter of resignation.
If you are eligible for a retirement benefit, you should not resign,
intending to submit a retirement application later. This is because if you die
after separating but before filing the application no life insurance, no
survivor benefit, and no survivor health insurance coverage would be available
to your survivor(s). You should, however, complete all the other required "exit
procedures."
Read more about applying for
retirement.

You should contact the Social Security
Administration at least three months before your 65th birthday to apply for
benefits. The Social Security Administration will have records pertaining to
your eligibility for Medicare coverage. If they do not, and you or your
employer need to get a statement of your earnings for this purpose, you can
write to:
General Services Administration
National Personnel Records
Center
Civilian Personnel Records
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis,
Missouri 63118
You should provide the following information in your request:

your name, as shown on your payroll records;

date of birth;

Social Security Number;

mailing address;

years for which earnings are needed;

name and location of employer for each year;

reason for request;

written signature; and,

a statement that all other sources of information have been exhausted.

If your employer sends us your retirement records electronically, via the
Data Exchange Gateway (DEG), your account information for direct deposit will be
sent to us automatically. No further action from you is required. Otherwise,
include your request to receive your payments by direct deposit with your
retirement package. You can do this by submitting a letter or a Standard Form
(SF) 1199A with your application. You must get the SF 1199A, Direct Deposit
Sign-Up Form, from your financial institution.
Direct deposit is available to retirees residing in Canada but, generally, it
is not available to those whose permanent address for receiving payments is
outside the United States. However, retirees living outside the U.S. can arrange
to have their payments electronically deposited in a U.S. bank.

Your personnel office will verify with your payroll office that the deposit
to give you credit in your annuity for military service you performed after 1956
has been paid, or that arrangements have been made for complete payment before
you leave the agency's rolls.

If you want to waive your military retired pay to receive credit for military
service in the computation of your benefit, you should write the Retired Pay
Operations Center at least 60 days before your planned retirement. Send your
waiver to:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
U.S. Military Retirement
Pay
P.O. Box 7130
London, KY 40742-7130
You can "fax" your request to 1 (888)
469-6559.
Suggested wording for your request is as
follows:
"I (full name and military serial number) hereby
waive my military retired pay for Civil Service Retirement/Federal Employees
Retirement System purposes effective (the day before your annuity
begins).I hereby authorize the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management to withhold from my CSRS or FERS annuity any amount of military
retired pay granted beyond the effective date of this waiver due to any delay in
receiving or processing this request."

Unexpected Error

There was an unexpected error when performing your action.

Your error has been logged and the appropriate people notified. You may close this message and try your command again, perhaps after refreshing the page. If you continue to experience issues, please notify the site administrator.